Hindering Factors that Prevent College English Students from Participating in Class Discussions: A Case at Jiangsu University, China

Abstract

During several non-participant observations of two advanced College English classes at Jiangsu University, it wasnoticed that most of the students did not engage in class discussions. To ascertain what the problem was, but fromlearners' perspectives, this research was conducted. Seventy-one students enrolled in College English at JiangsuUniversity volunteered to partake in this work. A self-administered questionnaire was used to gather the data. Thefindings indicate that most of the respondents did not take an active stance in class discussions because of their lackof knowledge on strategies to bear their thoughts or opinions. Other expressed that they did not know about thetopics to discuss in class, and that was a significant barrier to their performance. Besides, some participants doubtedto speak in class. That can be linked to their shyness. Knowledge about these findings is helpful for teachers andCollege English authorities to examine what kind of training should be offered to students and teachers to makesteady improvements.